"Kovy wanted to learn. What I like from him is he's intense. Her wants
to succeed," Lemaire explained. "Sometimes he'll take the wrong way
to succeed. By that I mean when things aren't going well he tries to beat
everyone. We call that cheating.

"He gets out of position because maybe he feels he's going to get a
better chance. He was doing that in the past and it's hard to
correct."

He said Kovalchuk has been a good student and has learned patience.

"Overall he's been very receptive," Lemaire said. "Before
everything was forced. It was go. Now I'm trying to tell him why he should go.
He'll be in a better position when he gets the puck because of his skating
skills."

Kovalchuk forced things last season.

"He was playing like that last year but it was new and I just let him
go," Lemaire remembered. "He wanted to make an effect. He was all
over but he was playing good. Offensively but not defensively.

"If he learns the game the proper way, he's going to play a long time
and he's going to be happier. Because when you stop scoring and you're that
type of player, you're miserable. But if you can do something else, you can
survive."

"We came from a team that wasn't playing together. A team that had no
confidence. There were a lot of holes," Lemaire said. "Right now I
think you can tell guys are playing with confidence. We're not the best team in
the league, but we play with confidence. Guys help each other and we're doing a
good job."

And the Islanders?

"To me they've been playing as well as we are right now," Lemaire
said.

* * *

Lemaire said Mattias Tedenby would be back in the Devils' lineup today
against the Islanders. He did not say which forward would come out, but it is
likely to be Adam Mair.

Vladimir Zharkov has one goal in 26 games. So, what does Lemaire expect from
him?

"Just be like the other guys and use his talent," the coach said.

How many goals can Zharkov score?

"I don't know," Lemaire said. "I haven't seen that scoring
touch yet. Maybe he could be a two (goal scorer)."